Welcome!

Welcome to the Designs by Ryn blog! The monthly Customer Creation Challenge can be found above in the navigation menu as well as links to my Shop, Facebook Page and Pinterest. Along the right you will find my Design Team. I hope you enjoy your visit and leave with some inspiration.

Monday, June 09, 2014

Customer Gallery #14

Hello everyone :)
I've got a lot of projects to share in this gallery. 21 to be exact. Wow!!! Thank you to everyone who has contributed artwork for this post!
Sarn has used Raindrop Set and Sea Bubbles Set. Her blog post HERE
Bronnie's used Circle Cluster Set. Her blog post HERE
In this pennant Sheelagh used Water Droplets. Her blog post HERE
Doreen's used Raindrop Set in this tag. Her blog post HERE
In this tag Jane's used Rising Bubbles. Her blog post HERE
Felicie's used Leafy Branch in the background and Flying Hummingbird 2 and 3 in the foreground. Her blogpost HERE
Kay's creation using Lucine. Her blog post HERE
Denise's card using Rising Bubbles. I don't have a link to this specific project but you can visit her blog HERE
Wilma's used Silhouette Dove Set and Kelp in the background of this layout. HERE's an awesome video showing how she put this together.
Zoe's tag using Raindrop Set. I don't have a link to a specific post for this one but you can visit her blog HERE.
A project from Sandie using Buttefly Fish, Spiral Branch Set and Rising Bubbles.
Cynthia's used Water Droplets 2.
Sonja's gilded Flying Hummingbird 2 in this project. Must try this!
A card by Bernie using Raindrop Set.
A fun and colourful project from Alda.
Carola's card using Water Droplets. Her blog post HERE
This piece is from Carola in Aruba. She's used Raindrop Set and Sea Bubbles Set.
Karen's project using Trickling Water Set. Her blog post HERE
Lastly, a couple of projects from Bozena. She's used Flying Hummingbird 2 in this card. Her blog post HERE
Bozena's used Sea Bubbles Set and Leafy Sea Dragon. Her blog post HERE
So many different styles and all beautiful creations. It's always a pleasure to see what you are up to :)
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Ryn

Sunday, June 01, 2014

June News!

Hello everyone,
Sorry I'm writing late today. A lot of you in Europe will already be asleep. Or not, if you're a night owl like me ;)
I've got as few sales to announce for June, the 1000 like challenge on Facebook and the Customer Creation Draw winner for last month...
Sales for this Month
The following three stamps have been discounted by 50% on my site (www.designsbyryn.com) I hope you like the selection for this month!
Betta - $4.49
Clown Fish - $4.49
Fish Scales - $4.99
The 1000 like Challenge
I just checked and it looks like the Designs by Ryn Facebook Page is at 999 likes. I'm so excited!!! I think it's important to stop and take the time to celebrate achievements along this journey. But how? I posed the question to you on Facebook and got some great suggestions for free stuff and a challenge. So here goes, my very first challenge...
Once we hit 1000 likes the challenge begins. The first 5 people to share a new project using one of my stamps as a focal point will receive a stamp of their choice. Photos of projects must be posted to my Facebook Wall. Please feel free to leave links to your blogs so that others can visit you as well.
Keep an eye on my Page. As soon as we hit 1000 the challenge is on! Good luck :)
Customer Creation Draw Winner
I've also randomly drawn a winner for the Customer Creation Draw... Jenny Pilz! Below is her creative take on the smart phone/tablet. I absolutely love the little 'app' icons on this card! Genius!
In the top row she used Trickling Water from my collection and in the last row Raindrop Set.
Please stop by Jenny's blog HERE to see her post on this project and to leave her a comment.
Everyone is welcome to participate in June's Customer Creation Draw. All you have to do is send in a project using one or more of my stamps (feel free to use other products as well). You can send the photo to my email address: designsbyryn@gmail.com or post it to my Facebook Wall. Be sure to add a link to your blog post if you have one. I randomly draw a winner on the first of every month and announce here. The winner gets a free stamp!
Thanks for stopping by,
Ryn




Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Happy Birthday Sheilah!!!

Hello everyone,
Hope you had a good weekend! Mine was just what I needed - good friends and some time in nature. Sunday was a close friend's birthday party. I've been working on a mixed media card for her using Candra and can finally show it here without spoiling the surprise.
I'm not really sure where to begin explaining how I did this one. It's been a work in progress for a long time. I would add one layer... get stuck... leave it... and repeat... Adding acrylic paint into the mix is fairly new for me and I haven't yet figured out a process for what works and what doesn't. Lots of experimenting!
The background started with Dylusions Ink Sprays as usual. I then used modeling paste through a TCW stencil that I borrowed from a friend. After it was dry I used Golden Regular Gel (Matte) to paste down pieces of handmade paper. It's grid pattern (seen in top photo) added some nice texture along with the stencil. I also used Glossy Accents to glue on some glass seed beads for even more texture.
Overtop, I applied many layers of gesso and acrylic paint. In hindsight, I might add the beads after the paint layer so that they don't get covered like these did. Depending on what you want it still has a neat effect. The gold peaking through in some areas is by Golden.
I just love this paint! Head on you can't really see it but when you look at the surface at an angle the paint shines brilliantly. I used the blue version on the wings of the moth. You can see the effect below.
Candra viewed head on. I stamped onto a Japanese rice paper with VersaFine and then coloured around the image with a light blue Tombow marker leaving the inside the natural paper colour. I then painted on some of the Interference Blue. You can see only a subtle hint of it in this shot.
Candra viewed at an angle. You can really see how the blue pops out. So yummy! The gold is doing the same below.
I think that's about it for this one. Hope you enjoyed it. Many thanks for the lovely comments that were left for me on my last post. I enjoyed reading them :)
Bye for now,
Ryn

Friday, May 16, 2014

In Search of Clear Water

Hey everyone,
The weekend is here again and I am looking forward to a couple of days away with my friends. Hope you enjoy yourself as well - whatever you have planned. It's Victoria Day weekend here in Canada. That means an extra day off for most people and fireworks. Do you celebrate this holiday where you are?
I thought I would post something quickly before I take off. This is a card that I made a little while ago using Clown Fish and Seaweed Set from my collection.
The background is a combination of Dylusions Spray Inks. I used modeling paste with a stencil from TCW on the left and rubbed some Distress Ink on top to add a bit of colour. It's hard to see in these photos but I also brushed on some gold acrylic paint from Golden.
The colour combination was a strange one for me but I just kept working with it. I brought out the greens by rubbing ink around the borders and stamping Seaweed Set in a clear area. It's organic form created a neat contrast to the almost mechanical feeling geometric shapes of the stencil.
I made the Clown Fish for another project but decided that they fit this one better. I never would have expected that I would like the bright orange on that background but I think that somehow it works. I imagine the two characters on a journey through the polluted ocean to find some clean and healthy water.
Well that's it for now. I hope you like my latest little experiment. Wishing you all a great weekend wherever you are :)
Ryn

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Customer Gallery #13

Hello everyone,
Hope you're enjoying the Spring and that you had a great a great Mother's Day :) Here are the latest sent in projects. Sorry it's taken me a bit longer to get your gallery up.
By Barbara using Gerbera. Her blog post HERE.
Another make by Barbara using Raindrop Set. She created this beauty at Eileen's latest workshop. You can check out Eileen's workshops HERE.
Frédérique's make with her free stamp (Silhouette Dove Set) from March's Customer Creation Draw.
Another piece by Frédérique using Raindrop Set.
Sabine's creation using Raindrops. Her blog post HERE.
Theresa's used Raindrop Set, Ornate Leaf Set and Seaweed Set in this card. She's got a great visual tutorial on her blog post HERE.
Shoshi's created a great tutorial for this card as well. She's used Water Droplets as honey. Why not?! A great idea! Her blog post HERE.
Julie's underwater world using Rising Bubbles.
A big thanks again to everyone who shared their art this go around :) Bye for now,
Ryn

Thursday, May 01, 2014

May News!

Hello everyone,
The time has come for some new sales and to announce the Customer Creation Draw winner for April. For the month of May I have chosen these three stamps to discount by 50%.
The random winner of last month's Customer Creation Draw is... Jools Robertson!!! Below is her contirbution to the draw using Water Droplets from my collection. Many thanks for sharing your art with us Jools and congratulations on winning a free stamp :) Please get in touch with me through email designsbyryn@gmail.com to collect your prize.
Her blog post for this creation.
That's it for now. Wishing you all a great month of May :)
Ryn

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Mama Fish

Hello everyone,
Wishing everyone who celebrates Easter a great holiday weekend :)
The background for this card is one of my very first experiments using molding paste and stencils. The background colour was created with Dylusions Ink Sprays. I then ripped up some decorative paper from Tim Holtz and brushed on the paper pieces with Golden Gel Medium (Regular Gel Matte). For the next layer I borrowed a friend's stencil and used a palette knife to apply Golden Light Molding Paste. When dry I did something strange and tried adding colour to the dots with Pan Pastels. It seemed to work but I wasn't happy at all with the colour choice and had no idea what to do with it next. The background sat for a couple of months unfinished until I made Butterfly Fish for another card. It didn't work for the card that I was thinking of but was just the touch I needed for this one.
The little bit of orange that I had used on the fins made it stand out and gave a little life to the colour palette in the background. Butterfly Fish was coloured with Tombow markers and highlighted with a Sakura white gel pen.
It wasn't until the whole card was finished that the dots started looking like strands of fish eggs. I imagined the Butterfly Fish guarding her young. To accentuate this idea I used Stickles to dot the centres of a few of the "eggs".
Sometimes creations really take on a life of their own. I like that.
Bye for now :)
Ryn

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Sunshine!

Hello everyone,
I can't believe how sunny and warm it is outside today! Finally!!! I must have walked down my street with the biggest smile on my face. This is a card that I made a little while ago. It reminds me of summer so I thought I would share it today.
I used Flying Hummingbird 3 and Striped Reed Set from my collection.
I've been using the same formula for my cards lately so my process for this card is similar to the last few that I've posted. Dylusions Spray Ink background. The tribal stencil is from The Crafter's Workshop.
I coloured Flying Hummingbird 3 with Tombow markers and blended the colours with water. I then added Stickles around his face to capture the iridescence that make hummingbirds seem like flying gemstones.
I also sporadically added Stickles to the background and coloured the leaves of Striped Reed Set with a green Tombow marker. To add some dimension to the card I popped up Flying Hummingbird 3 with some adhesive foam. Viola! C'est fini!
Hope you like it :)
Bye for now,
Ryn

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Customer Gallery #12

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well :)
Not much to say today so I will get straight to your art. Many thanks to everyone who has been sending in their projects! It's as if you all coordinated to send in water themed pieces. Makes for a great collection of images for the Spring!
Deb's used Raindrop Set in this textured canvas. Her blog post and an awesome step by step tutorial HERE
Jane's take on Rising Bubbles. Her blog post HERE with more close up shots of the great details in this piece.
Heike has done an amazing job of cutting out Seaweed Set (bottom right) and has used Rising Bubbles in the background. Her blog post HERE has many other projects using Original Rust (used on the anchor). Neat effect!
The last two pieces are by Sonja for a Gelli Plate workshop. She used Rising Bubbles in the first and Water Droplets 2 in the second card. You can check out her blog post HERE
Lastly, some of the happiest raindrops I've ever seen! Cornelia's blog post HERE
Hope you enjoyed this gallery. There sure are a lot of talented people out there. Keep on creating :)
Ryn

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Lots of News!!!

Hello everyone,
It's the beginning of the month and I've got a lot of things to announce today. No pranks, I promise ;)
Water Droplets is Back!
Firstly, I have restocked my shelves and Water Droplets is once again available in my online shop. The are also a few other designs that have been restocked such as Dreaming Mermaid and Left Corner Mermaid. Thank you to everyone for being patient! I've sent off emails to all of you who had asked for a notification. It should be waiting in your inbox.
April Sales
This month I have discounted another three stamps by 50% for you. In anticipation of Spring I thought that Raindrops might be a good theme.
Customer Creation Draw Winner
The time has also come for me to randomly pick a winner for the Customer Creation Draw. Any sent in projects from now until the end of April will be included in this month's draw and will be announced on the first of May. This month's free stamp goes out to Frédérique!!! Here are the beautiful pieces that she sent in...

If you would like to give her a visit HERE is a link to Frédérique's blog. A big thank you for sending in your art!
Well, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by :)
Ryn